Lady Gaga Wants To Be Amy Winehouse In Upcoming Biopic

It’s been two weeks today since the passing of Amy Winehouse, and in that time the “Body And Soul” singer has gotten more press than she’s received since she first blew up with “Rehab” and we all expected Back To Black to be the beginning of a long, fruitful career. Now another performer who tends to hog headlines — Lady Gaga, perhaps you’ve read about her — is gunning for a role as the late 27 Club starlet in a rumored biopic, according to The Daily Star. Gaga told Access Hollywood Winehouse “opened a door for girls like me who didn’t fit that exact real pop mold” — is the “You And I” diva hoping to repay her with a big screen tribute? Read more below.

First of all, let’s talk about this film existing in the first place. Not only does it seem a little insensitive to already be working on a film not two weeks after Amy’s passing, but does the world need an Amy Winehouse biopic at all?

Winehouse’s career certainly didn’t have the longevity of the recently-Hollywoodized Johnny Cash or Ray Charles, for example — decades’ worth of drama and romance. By comparison, Winehouse’s story has a lot less material (and essentially only one album of recognizable music) to draw from. Which means the focus will most likely primarily be on her addiction and troubled romance with Blake Fielder-Civil, which just feels exploitative at this point. Will we see reenactments of Winehouse drunk on stage? Do we need to, when they’re already on YouTube?

About the role, an “insider” is quoted by The Daily Star as saying: “Lady Gaga worshiped Amy and would love nothing more than to transform herself into her idol on the big screen. She’d be spot on performing Amy’s songs and has got the right look and bolshy attitude. Gaga’s been itching to make the transition from music into movies and sees this as the ideal role to launch her film career.” This, of course, is after Lady Gaga told The View that the world should be kinder to superstars in light of the songbird’s passing.

So as for the splashy casting idea — yes, Mother Monster has shown some good comedic timing on SNL, and we know she went to Tisch. But does casting someone without any prior cinematic acting experience seem a bit reckless? Should this role be played a dramatic actress we know is capable of rising to the challenge? Sure, it’d be interesting to hear Gaga’s take on Amy’s music, and maybe she’d knock it out of the park with acting chops we’ve never seen. But Gaga’s stardom might very well eclipse Amy’s story, as seeing the hooker-inspired icon in any movie would be a spectacle at this point. We’re not sure playing Amy Winehouse is a role one should cut her teeth on.

Honestly, we have a hard time believing anything will actually come of this news. It sounds like the sort of thing that makes a good headline until everyone comes to their senses about and realizes it’s not a good idea. Likely, this bit of buzz will disappear back into the rumor mill as quickly as it surfaced.

But tell us what you think. Would you like to see one outrageous diva play another with Lady Gaga as Amy Winehouse, or should producers hold out for a more seasoned (and less sensational) actress?